The ability to putt and chip a golf ball with consistent accuracy flows from the use of the proper form in the golfer's swing. It is preferable, if not essential, for golfers to learn to stroke the golf club by the use of, primarily, their shoulders. Excessive use of the golfer's wrists in the stroke, in many instances, causes the club head to approach and come into contact with the golf ball in a manner which results in pushing, pulling and other undesirable movement or paths as the club head approaches the ball, at impact, and as the golfer follows through. It is therefore desirable for beginning golfers to develop putting and chipping swings primarily driven by movement of the golfer's shoulders in a pendulum motion. For intermediate and advanced golfers, it is desirable to continue to practice and maintain a proper shoulder driven swing.
Although some prior art devices developed to date appear to assist in the development and maintenance of a proper putting stroke, many shortcomings still exist. For instance, many of the prior art putting clubs are made with specialized club shafts. Such shafts tend to add to the overall cost of the club by, for instance, adding to the difficulty and cost of manufacturing it. This cost is increased when the club incorporates two specialized shafts.
In addition, since such clubs are typically designed to be used by a golfer of a specific shoulder size and height, the same club may not be comfortably used by a different golfer. When training and trying to develop an acceptable level of consistency in his or her swing, and in order to maintain the proper swing, the golfer preferably uses a club sized and configured for the most comfort and the most desirable feel. The club of choice is usually sized for golfers of a certain physique (i.e., configured to be most comfortably used by a golfer with a particular shoulder breadth, arm length and height). Since the typical club is not adjustable, however, clubs of a number of different sizes and configurations must be made to meet the needs of golfers with different physiques.
Different sizes and configurations of a training club may also be desired by an individual golfer for his or her own use. A change in the desired size or configuration typically requires the golfer to use a different club because the typical training club has no means of adjustment. For instance, when a golfer who has been practicing his or her "shoulder stroke" with a two-shafted training putter club with hand grips 12" apart desires to move from that configuration to a practice position with hand grips 6" apart (i.e., in an effort to gradually move to a one-shafted putter club after learning and maintaining the proper "shoulder stroke"), a typical problem arises. There is typically no means of reducing, for example, the space between the hand grips from 12" to 6". Even if there is a similar club available with 6" spacing, along with the additional club comes the additional cost of using more than one club to achieve the desired feel of gradually decreasing the space between the golfer's hand grips.
One possible means of decreasing production and related costs is to, where possible, use conventional golf club components (e.g., the mere use of conventional shafts with special club heads would minimize the production costs). If the club head was the only specialized component, in addition to reducing production costs, the specialized head could be made available to golf club suppliers and golfers who wish to reduce their overall cost by purchasing only specialized heads and connecting them to components to which they have ready access. Many of the prior art clubs, however, require the use of specialized components for the club shafts, heads and other elements.